


There Are Stranger Things Than Love

by adreamerwhowrites



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Jonathan and Nancy being cute, Jonathan deserves all the love, Jonathan has a hard time believing someone could love him, The feels, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 14:36:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11038197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adreamerwhowrites/pseuds/adreamerwhowrites
Summary: Jonathan frowned. “I don’t know, maybe because I’m not exactly the kind of guy you bring home to your parents. Steve? He’s boyfriend material. You bring him home and he’ll charm your mother and call your father “Sir”. What girl doesn’t want that?”“What, so you suddenly know what girls want?”, Nancy scoffed.Jonathan’s cheeks burned red in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean…” He paused to take a breath, “It’s just…I’m having a hard time believing that Nancy Wheeler- perfect, straight A’s Nancy Wheeler likes someone like me.”





	There Are Stranger Things Than Love

It was a chilly December evening in Hawkins, Indiana. Snow fell swiftly outside the Wheeler residence where Jonathan Byers was currently parked and lost in thought. His mind was, of course, focused on one person: Nancy Wheeler. He had become close to her during "The Incident" (as they had now dubbed it), closer than he had ever been to any girl. But she'd been with Steve at the time and as much as it had pained Jonathan, he'd left her to be happy with him.

Then everything had changed that night at the hospital.

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Jonathan's back ached as he sat on the stiff hospital chair, his eyes focused solely on Will's chest breathing steadily. He felt an immense amount of relief that Will was here, alive, but underneath that relief there was an ever-increasing sense of panic that Will could be taken again, his baby brother was so defenceless, so innocent.

Oh, God. Oh, God.

Jonathan felt it clawing its way to the surface. His breathing was ragged, panicked. He could feel his mom's hands on him, shaking him. Then Will awoke.

He met Will's brown eyes and his panic subsided. Will grinned and Jonathan mirrored it, his heart aching at the gesture, a gesture he thought he'd never see again. Tears were pouring down his face now, he could hear his mom crying beside him. Everything was right again.

"Hey...hi, sweetheart", his mom gasped.

"Hi", Jonathan breathed.

"Where...where am I?", Will stuttered out.

He turned to his mom and smiled. "You're…you're home now." Jonathan said. "You're safe."

"...Jonathan", Will marvelled.

"Yeah, yeah it's me buddy", Jonathan choked out through his tears. "We missed you." He laughed, "We really missed you."

Will's eyes darted to Jonathan's hand, "Your hand.", he said in concern.

Jonathan looked at the bandage covering his hand. "This, it's just a cut." He smiled at Will, tears in his eyes. "It's nothing."

"You're worried about my hand?", Jonathan laughed. His mom chuckled, tears staining her cheeks.

Jonathan started suddenly, he'd forgotten all about the present he'd made for Will. "Oh, hey we uh…we brought you some stuff ", he said as he lifted the box filled with vinyl and cassettes onto the bed. "So you don't get bored in here", he elaborated.

"I made you a new mix tape, there's some stuff on there that I think you really might like", Jonathan said as he showed Will the cassette. Will grinned at him and Jonathan laughed and shook his head, he'd never appreciated that smile before.

After letting Will adjust to the hospital, Jonathan ventured out into the waiting room. He laughed as he watched Will's friends scramble for the door in a mad rush. He swerved to avoid colliding with them and followed them back to Will's room.

Mike and Lucas immediately launched themselves at Will. "Careful", both he and his mom cautioned. 

Dustin began slapping at Mike and Lucas' backs in impatience and then swiftly hugged Will when they moved. Will erupted into a coughing fit and Jonathan stepped forward in concern only for Will to stop a second later. His heartbeat slowed back to normal and Jonathan drowned out the friends' conversation as he felt eyes on the back of his head. He turned, only to meet the eyes of Nancy Wheeler. His eyes softened and he smiled tentatively at her. He didn't know if things would remain as they were now that Will was safe or if they would return to being strangers. He didn't like thinking about the latter.

She smiled back and tilted her head behind her, motioning towards the corridor. Jonathan looked back at Will and his mom and found them distracted, then turned on his heel and followed Nancy into the corridor.

"Hey", she breathed.

"Hey", Jonathan whispered back.

"I'm really sorry that Barb's...that she's...", Jonathan couldn't say the word.

"Dead", Nancy filled in.

There were no more tears in her eyes, she'd cried all her tears already. Now she was empty inside. But she had felt a spark inside of her when she looked at Jonathan and she'd be damned if she didn't chase what made her happy.

They stood in an awkward silence, Jonathan afraid to meet her eyes. Then, suddenly, Nancy whispered "Fuck it" and shot forward, towards Jonathan. Her lips met his and Jonathan froze. Suddenly he remembered what was happening and stumbled backwards, where he hit the wall.

"Wh-what about Steve?", he said, in shock.

Despite how much it hurt him to say it, Jonathan had to know. He had to know if Nancy still had feelings for Steve. He had come back to help them, when he could've ran and left  
them to be killed. He and Nancy wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Steve. Besides, why would Nancy want him if she could have Steve?

Nancy's cheeks were stained red with embarrassment-embarrassment from having kissed Jonathan Byers, the freak? He wouldn't be surprised if she regretted it. Nancy was the perfect girl next door (well at least everyone thought so) and Jonathan was the town freak, what would everyone think? 

Nancy opened her mouth to speak, then closed it and took a deep breath. 

"Steve...Steve and I, we weren't right for each other and after Barb...it didn't feel right to be with him...but-but it feels right with you", she said softly.

Jonathan closed his eyes and exhaled. “But-but I'm the town freak...a perv like you said. Why would you want that?"

Nancy smiled at him. “Why wouldn't I?"

Jonathan frowned. “I don’t know, maybe because I’m not exactly the kind of guy you bring home to your parents. Steve? He’s boyfriend material. You bring him home and he’ll charm your mother and call your father “Sir”. What girl doesn’t want that?”

“What, so you suddenly know what girls want?”, Nancy scoffed.

Jonathan’s cheeks burned red in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean…” He paused to take a breath, “It’s just…I’m having a hard time believing that Nancy Wheeler- perfect, straight A’s Nancy Wheeler likes someone like me.”

Nancy huffed out a breath, “Jonathan, you can’t just go through what we did and not develop…something.”

This time it was Jonathan who stepped forward to press a tender kiss against Nancy’s lips, both pulling away with smiles a few seconds later.

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Jonathan smiled at the memory and braved the freezing December weather as he left his car to rush towards the Wheeler residence. His relationship with Nancy had only improved from there. He didn’t quite know what to call them but it was far from the two strangers he had envisioned before.

As he raised his fist, the door opened abruptly. Nancy stood there, adorning a wide smile and a knowing glint in her eyes. 

Jonathan chuckled. "You saw me sitting in my car, didn't you?"

"Yeah, only for the last ten minutes or so", Nancy confirmed with a laugh.

For a moment, both revelled in the peace that had come after "The Incident", grateful that they were still alive, that they still had the opportunity to smile sweetly at each other.

The reverie was broken by yelling from the basement. Jonathan looked towards the kitchen where Mrs. Wheeler was rolling her eyes with a fond smile.

"I should probably get down there before they decide to start another game," he murmured.

“Yeah-yeah, of course.”

With that, Jonathan turned towards the kitchen, smiling at Mrs. Wheeler as he climbed the steps to the basement. Immediately, Jonathan’s face scrunched up.

“Oh jeez, what’s that smell? You guys been playing games all day or just farting?”, Jonathan teased with a smile.

As Dustin and Lucas started to tease each other, Jonathan motioned for Will to follow him upstairs.

“Bye guys!”, Will shouted to be heard over the commotion.

It still made Jonathan smile to see that things between the boys hadn’t changed much, sure they were a little bit more protective of Will but they were still able to joke around with each other like old times. It would’ve killed Jonathan if this nightmare had taken away any more of their childhood.

As Jonathan and Will headed towards the door, ready to go home for their own Christmas dinner, Nancy came barrelling down the stairs.

“Hey, Jonathan. Wait up!”

Jonathan turned. Nancy held a small package covered in wrapping paper in her hands and as she held it out towards him, he scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.

“I-I didn’t know we were giving presents. I feel bad…I didn’t get you anything,” he explained.

Nancy smiled sweetly at him, “It’s okay…it’s not really a present. It’s a-a well you’ll see.”

As she leaned up to kiss him, he turned his head so her lips connected with his cheek, slightly embarrassed at the watchful eyes of Will. But as she pulled back with a hurt look in her eyes, Jonathan leaned down and captured her lips in his, not caring that he would later get teased by Will for the public display of affection.

And how right he was. (“I can’t wait to tell mom that you’re dating Nancy!”, teased Will. Jonathan was too happy from the memory of Nancy’s lips on his and the sound of Will’s laughter echoing in the car to even care.)

Later, when Jonathan pulled the paper off the present to find a new camera, he would smile and know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was falling in love with Nancy Wheeler.


End file.
